


Paradise Off Flatbush Ave.

by TaraSoleil



Series: Ice Bear Has Many Secrets [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), MCU, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Darcy is the BOSS at wedding planning., F/M, We're going to the chapel and we're gonna get maaaaried.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 14:17:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5378279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraSoleil/pseuds/TaraSoleil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are cordially invited to the wedding of Steven G. Rogers & Darcy M. Lewis.<br/>Ice Bear will give a toast. Thor will spill some beans. A good time will be had by all (save two).<br/>Please RSVP in the comment box below.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paradise Off Flatbush Ave.

The sun hadn’t yet risen. The alarm wouldn’t go off for another hour, but Steve was already wide awake, had been for several hours. It was his wedding day. From his place sprawled among the rumpled sheets, he could see the framed photograph of his parents on their wedding day. It was the only photo he had of them, prints being so expensive to have made when he was young. Soon his life would be littered with photos of him and Darcy and their child.

He smiled despite the anxiety that had been building over the past week. He had been worried Darcy would change her mind. She was willful in the best possible way. It was only a matter of her realizing she didn’t actually need him, and the wedding would be off. When Bucky informed him that she was taking over for the wedding planner and firing the dressmaker, he was sure she was heading down that road.

Every day, he waited for the call or text to tell him it was all off. Today was no different. He had spent the night certain she would slip the ring under his door while he slept. So he didn’t sleep.

“Friday.”

“Yes, Captain?” the AI answered.

“Any messages?” he asked, as he did every morning.

“No, Captain. No messages,” the computer-generated voice managed a fair approximation of a put-upon sigh. “No visitors. No calls. No texts.”

He released a slow breath as some small portion of his anxiety dissolved. “Thank you, Friday.”

“You bothering the computer again?” Bucky called through his door.

“Just asking a question, Buck.”

“Same question you’ve asked her every morning for two weeks. Darcy isn’t going to get cold feet. Trust me,” the man assured him.

Steve couldn’t help the frown that pulled at his mouth. “Should I be worried that you’re spending so much time with her lately?”

“Ice Bear has no designs on your girl.”

“You had designs on Peggy.”

“I flirted _once_. Seventy years ago. Are you ever going to let that go?” the man demanded, shoving the door open.

“When Darcy says ‘I do’ to me and nobody else.”

Bucky snorted and turned from him. “Well, get up and let’s get a moving toward that excellent goal before you do something stupid and chase Darcy and the baby away.”

“The wedding isn’t for another six hours,” Steve groaned, but still swung himself up and out of bed, trudging to the bathroom.

Coffee was on in the kitchen by the time he found his way into his workout gear. Bucky, also dressed for a run, was leaning against the sterile stainless steel counter, mug in hand and stubble on his face; he hadn’t bothered shaving for a few days, said he wanted Ice Bear to be smooth as their unborn baby’s bottom in the wedding photos.

Steve accepted the mug his friend offered. Instead of the ‘thanks’ he had intended to say, the words “You really don’t like her?” came out.

Bucky frowned into his drink. “Of course I like her. She’s great. But she ain’t mine. Never will be.”

“She is great, isn’t she?” he grinned as he thought of Darcy, of her smile and her laugh, of her—

“Oh, Jesus,” the man groaned. “When you start making that face, it’s time for me to leave. You can spar with yourself.” He set his mug down on the counter with a hard crack that might just have broken the reinforced ceramic, but he didn’t pause as he marched himself from the room.

“Buck, wait up!” Steve called and chased after him.

“You finished mooning?”

He had to smile. How many dames had Bucky mooned over growing up? And how often had he been forced to listen to it? In nearly one hundred years, Bucky had been forced to take a dose of his own medicine all of two times. Maybe next time he found a girl he liked, he wouldn’t be so quick to wax poetic to Steve at all hours. “Yeah, I’m done.”

For the rest of the morning, he managed to keep from mentioning Darcy more than a handful of times, though his thoughts strayed to her every possible moment. His preoccupation left gaping holes in his form, as his arms tended to fall to his sides when his thoughts veered toward his girl, leaving him wide open to an attack.

“Good thing you boys heal fast,” a man called, interrupting what was increasingly becoming a one-sided fight.

Steve had the forethought to call ‘time’ before turning to see the man strutting across the gym in a sharply tailored suit and polished shoes. His moustache and slight beard trimmed to perfection. Sam Wilson had style. There’s no denying it.

“Well?” he spun around. “Good enough to avoid getting punched in the face?”

“Ice Bear would not strike you,” Bucky commented. “Ice Bear doubts Natasha would.”

Sam offered him a nod of appreciation. “Glad to hear it. That is my main goal of the day, not getting punched in the face by that gorgeous redhead.”

“She has other avenues available beside punching,” Steve warned.

“I’m looking forward to finding out what those might be,” he smiled before turning formal. “Now, gentlemen, I’ve been sent to find out why you haven’t been answering Friday.”

“Friday?” Steve questioned. They had been sparring for… well, he wasn’t sure how long they had been at it, but he hadn’t heard the AI once in that time. Maybe he had been too preoccupied. He looked to Bucky for some sort of confirmation.

“Ice Bear silenced Friday in the gym while Steve wasn’t looking.”

“What for?”

“Steve was anxious to the point of causing Ice Bear physical pain. Steve needed to focus on something that was not the wedding.”

Steve scowled at him. “I would have been fine. What time is it?”

“Ten. You get married in an hour.” Sam hadn’t finished speaking before the groom was sprinting from the room to the open elevator. He paced the tiny space as if it might somehow speed the journey to his floor. As soon as the doors began to open, he was squeezing through them, running down the hall to his apartment.

The tux had been hanging in his closet for a week, shirt pressed and shoes polished. All he needed to do was shower. The hours with Bucky in the gym had not quelled the anxiety, just set it to rest for a while. Now that he was fully aware of the time and what was coming on far too quickly, it returned in full force, making his hands shake and fingers fumble. He dropped the soap and his razor more times than he could count. The only thing keeping from looking like a murder victim for the wedding photos was Dr. Erskine’s serum.

“Ready yet?” Bucky shouted through the door.

“No thanks to you!” he shouted back.

“You were doing great until Sam put a time limit on it,” he countered.

Steve muttered and cursed under his breath as he fumbled with is shoelaces. He grabbed his jacket and hurried through the door. Bucky was on the other side, looking calmer than seemed fair.

“Let’s go. I don’t want Darcy thinking I’ve stood her up,” he said, shoving his friend toward the door.

He paced the elevator again on the way down, Bucky intentionally stepping into his path just to annoy him and break his concentration. The ‘ding’ signaled their arrival at the garage level, where a car and driver were waiting to see them safely to the church. Once settled into the seat, he tried to relax. Beside him, Bucky was sitting back, watching the scenery fly past. Bucky didn’t curse at each red light and random pedestrian that blocked their way. Bucky’s hand wasn’t tapping an agitated rhythm against his thigh. Bucky was a pain in his ass.

He tore his eyes away from his friend and looked out the window.

He frowned to see the Brooklyn Bridge coming into view.

“Driver, we’re going the wrong way,” he said, sickness fighting its was up his throat.

“Change of venue,” the man replied crisply. He offered no further details.

“Bucky?”

“Your girl took charge,” was all the man had to say in reply.

Steve scowled as he watched his home borough slide past his window. As they pulled onto Flatbush, he started counting the number of alleys he had been beat up in as a kid. As they drew closer to Darcy’s apartment, he wondered if they were there to collect her. Maybe she had changed her mind about a church wedding. Maybe the driver was their priest and Bucky was the witness and the entire ceremony was to be held in the backseat of Stark’s car. God, he hoped he was wrong about that.

They passed the questionable Chinese restaurant below Darcy’s apartment, and Steve let out a relieved sigh. Prospect Park came into view, balloons tied to every sign and pole with signs that read ‘Wedding This Way’. Steve smiled at the exuberance, but thought no more of it until the driver pulled off the Parkway and into the park.

Bucky offered the smallest of grins as the car pulled into a reserved spot in the botanical garden parking lot.

“What’s going on? What happened to the church?” Steve questioned.

“Just start walking,” Bucky ordered, giving him a none-too-gentle shove toward the path. On either side of the sidewalk were signs reading “Welcome to the Wedding”, again with balloons bobbing above them.

“Those signs,” he realized. “All the balloons? They’re us?”

“Go see for yourself,” he said, walking ahead as he slid his jacket and void face on.

Steve would have asked for further information, but he knew Bucky wouldn’t give it. All he would get from him is the usual ‘Ice Bear is filled with secrets’, which was truly grating. So he walked, following the path and the signs until the trees opened to a world more vibrant than any he could have imagined.  Guests mingled between two rows of cherry trees in full bloom, laughing as petals fell into their hair and drinks. A smile pulled at his mouth as he moved among them, shaking hands and offering greetings. Every face he saw was one he knew, a friend or some distant family member he had sought out after thawing. No senators. No generals. No politicians, save Darcy’s uncle Theo, who was an Alderman in his hometown.

“What happened to the rest of the guests?” he questioned.

“Darcy slashed it down to only family and friends,” Pepper smiled and plucked a stray petal from his hair. “Very smart choice, I must say.”

“Yeah,” he agreed absently as no one rushed forward to take his hand, as only a single flash bulb went off to take a picture of the guests three trees away.

“You best get moving, Cap,” Stark suggested, checking the time on his watch. “The Kid doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed again. The rehearsal ceremony had been held in the ballroom of Avengers Tower. Darcy had said it was because the church was booked for a baptism. Now he knew she just wanted to surprise him. At the rehearsal, he had walked past a line of chairs he thought represented the doors to the church, but he now knew were stand-ins for the trees. He retraced those steps, leaving the shower of petals behind and walking into an ocean of the most delicate blue flowers he had ever seen. Past that stood a thick-beamed pergola dripping with wisteria, framed on all sides by vibrant azaleas.

“Steven!” Thor called from his spot beneath the awning of pale purple flowers. “Come, my friend! The bonding ceremony is to begin shortly.”

Steve couldn’t stop himself from smiling. It’s what Darcy had said she wanted. A quirky little bonding ceremony in the garden. He should have listened.

The guests made their way through the field of bluebells, the same look of awe on their faces that he had worn minutes before. As they settled into their seats, he wondered where the organ was. Darcy wasn’t going to walk down the aisle without Wagner accompanying her, was she?

At a nod from Thor, shrill violin notes flew through the air, cutting through the chatter. Woodwinds followed, then the sharp tap of chimes came in an irregular rhythm that sounded rather like the workings of a clock. The clockwork chimes continued until a man spoke in a slightly nasal voice, _“Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three.”_ Steve found himself obeying the command as the man began to sing, _“Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look and you’ll see into your imagination.”_

As the man continued his strangely beautiful song, Sam and a woman from R&D named Cindy appeared at the edge of the trees, walking slowly to the odd beat. She wore a floaty dress of pink far different than the electric blue dresses Darcy had shown him last time they discussed the wedding plans. The next woman, Margery, also from R&D, wore a dress of vibrant purple.

Steve tried not to frown as he looked between the two women. They didn’t match. Weren’t bridesmaids supposed to match? The next bridesmaid didn’t match either of those previous, her dress was short and green. Finally Bucky and Jane came. Thor’s girl looked lovely in a dress of stately blue. Like the other women before her, she held no flowers, but instead a bouquet of colorful ribbon attached to inflated balloons. None of them looked as if they belonged in the same ceremony, save the uniting feature of the balloons they carried. He wanted to protest so many breaks from tradition, but standing together in a row, they looked perfect.

Then Darcy appeared.

She was not consumed by white fabric, as so many of the women were in the magazines he had looked through. The dress was white and what his mother and Bucky’s sister had called ‘tea length’. Beneath it, he could see acres of vibrant blue petticoats peeking out. The blue perfectly coordinated with the single, oversized balloon she held in one hand. Her father smiled from his place at her other hand.

“Damn,” Steve muttered as the pair worked their way through the bluebells and guests in time to the song.

“Aye, Steven, you are indeed a lucky man,” Thor agreed, offering his shoulder a firm, and possibly warning, squeeze.

Darcy’s smile was breathtaking as her father offered her hand to him. “Surprised?”

“Very.”

“Good surprised?” she questioned.

“ _Very_ ,” he agreed and kissed her, earning cheers and whistles from their friends and relatives.

“Your actions are premature, Steven,” Thor laughed.

“No man ever wants to hear that!” Clint heckled from his seat.

Thor ignored the man’s jibe and continued, “Friends, let us settle and begin.” He began speaking words none of them understood as he took a small pine branch and dipped it into a bowl of water, raising it to the heavens, dropping it down and then whipping it sideways, spraying nearly everyone in attendance with a shower of droplets. Steve looked horrified at his bride, who shook the water from her dress and laughed.

“I said I wanted a quirky ceremony.” She offered a smile before turning from him to call, “You okay, Aunt Ester?”

“Get on with it,” an elderly woman shouted back. “I want to dance with the handsome fella!” She made a gesture in Bucky’s direction, which had Steve snorting a laugh into his sleeve. He was sure he shouldn’t be laughing at his wedding.

At the honored elder’s command, Thor continued. Steve wished he knew what the man was saying, but whatever worries he had about whatever it was he was agreeing to fell away in the face of Darcy’s infectious smile and the man’s earnest tone. How could anything being promised in such a paradise be anything but wonderful?

“I bless this joining and wish you both a long and joyous life together,” Thor announced. “Now is the time for expressing your affections.” He clapped them on the shoulder with enough force to have Darcy stumbling forward. Steve was more than happy to catch her.

“You may kiss the bride,” Darcy offered with a smile.

“Happily,” Steve agreed and took her mouth with a kiss that Father Dougal wouldn’t have approved of if this wedding were taking place in his church.

The guests rose in a cheer of appreciation as the man began again to sing that song that made perfect sense now.

“Who is this?”

“Gene Wilder,” she smiled, “aka the best Willy Wonka ever.”

He returned her smile, knowing he would have a lifetime to figure out just what she was talking about. He offered her an arm, and they walked together back to the orchard of blossoms where tables had been set up among the trees. Steve pulled from his perfect memory the imaginary lines delineating church from banquet hall in their rehearsal and easily led the way to their table, pulled out Darcy’s chair and smiled as he sat beside her.

“Ice Bear did not lose the rings,” Bucky informed them as he took first Steve’s hand and then Darcy’s and slid a ring onto each one. “Ice Bear declares you wed.”

Steve held his breath as Darcy examined the ring. He had arranged it with the wedding coordinator to be the single quirky thing in an otherwise traditional ceremony. Now, he wasn’t so sure it would hold up to her standards.

“Is that seriously a fox? Oh, my baby Jesus in a manger, you are the best!” She threw herself at Steve, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him as tight as her growing belly would allow. “You are so getting lucky tonight.”

“Already am,” he disputed.

“Not what that phrase means, gramps.”

“I know.” He offered her a sly smile.

“When did you get so smooth?”

“Steve has been taking lessons from Ice Bear,” Bucky said and rose from his seat, tapping his glass with a knife to gain the attention of the crowd. Steve paled as he imagined what sort of things the man might say while in the chilly guise.

“Ice Bear would like to say a few words,” he said in a loud, clear tone. “Steve has been Ice Bear’s friend for as long as Ice Bear can remember. Ice Bear would not be alive today were it not for Steve’s pigheadedness, but then Steve would not be alive if Ice Bear hadn’t saved him, either. Ice Bear just wanted to say that Steve is the best man Ice Bear has ever known, and Ice Bear knows that Steve would die to protect Darcy.”

Silence reigned among Darcy’s relatives and co-workers. Only the residents of the Tower, well acquainted with Bucky’s strange alter-ego, clapped and cheered. Thor was especially vocal in his approval, clapping loudly and shouting ‘Well said’ at the top of his sizeable lungs.

Jane’s speech, sadly, wasn’t much better. It was filled with analogies to scientific principals only one in attendance was smart enough to grasp.

“Starting to rethink my choice of maid of honor,” Darcy muttered as Jane carried on.

“Ice Bear does not agree. Miriam is not worthy of Darcy’s attention.”

“Thanks, Ice Bear,” Darcy smiled and whispered, “I’m just sorry I’ll have to hear about how awful this speech was at the next family gathering. Miriam and Aunt Lorelei will never shut up about it.”

 _“They’re here?”_ Bucky balked, breaking character in his surprise. “They sabotaged your wedding.”

“Hells yeah, they’re here. I wanted them to see just how awesome I am.” She gestured toward the very back. “Cindy offered her brother as their table partner. He never bothered learning much English and is the single most socially awkward person I’ve ever met. He just stares at people and breathes loudly.”

Bucky’s mouth hung open for a moment as he blinked once, twice, three times at her, then said, “Ice Bear wants Darcy to have his children.”

“Too late, already spoken for,” she held up the hand with the fox in tiny diamonds.

“Ice Bear is crestfallen.”

“Ice Bear will get over me, especially after dancing with Aunt Ester. She cuts quite a rug.”

Bucky looked over to the nearest table, where the seventy-year-old sat batting her eyes coyly in his direction. “Ice Bear will take payment for his efforts now.”

“Payment?” Steve questioned, looking worriedly between them.

His wife leaned back in her chair. “Fine,” she huffed. “Have at it.”

“Wait,” he insisted. “What is he--?” Before Steve could finish asking, Bucky had his hand on her stomach, rubbing the growing roundness with gentle strokes.

“Ice Bear can feel a heartbeat,” he said, a smile touching the corner of his mouth.

“Really?” Steve cried, putting his hand beside the prosthetic, closing his eyes and ignoring everything but the sensation coming through his fingers. He couldn’t feel it, but he knew Bucky was right.

“Uh, guys…” Darcy said. “You might want to stop before someone – Balls. Too late.”

“What’s this?” Thor demanded. “Darcy? Are you with child?” He didn’t mean to shout; Steve had learned after so many years working together that the man’s voice just carried. He even whispered loudly. A declaration of joyous surprise, well, that was bound to reach even Miriam and Aunt Lorelei’s ears.

“Yeah,” she said, turning to the guests who sat in shock. “Surprise! New little Rogers coming soon to a penthouse near you!”

Only one voice dared to answer her announcement. “Nice try, kid!” Tony called. “It’s my building. I get the penthouse.”

“Weak sauce, Stark!” Darcy shouted. “Mama Bear deserves the best view! And a heli-pad!”

“Ice Bear will make him change his mind,” Bucky offered. He laid his hand on Darcy’s stomach once again, smiling to feel the beating of their child’s heart.

Steve wasn’t sure it was worth arguing the finer points of the nuclear family unit, and how the husband was the one who was meant to go strong-arm people for a better apartment. He suspected it would be words wasted when the man was so enthralled by the heartbeat only he could feel without an ultrasound.

Besides, the penthouse was really nice.

**Author's Note:**

> So I was planning on having Gary's twins as flower girl and ring bearer. She dressed in full princess regalia, complete with tiara. He in a fully-articulated foam knight's costume, carrying the rings on a pillow shaped like a severed dragon's head... but I felt it took away from Darcy's moment. So it got cut. 
> 
> Also, I've started sharing odd pictures and links to things involved in these stories over on that tumblr I mentioned the other day [ I am Tarasoleil](http://www.iamtarasoleil.tumblr.com). Including Darcy's tat from Got Soul and the FREAKIN' AWESOME FANART AnnieMar had made... not for me, but I still got to see it. (It's the lockscreen on my cellphone now. Might be until I die or phone-chips are implanted in our brains... whichever comes first. )


End file.
